# Leaning a bad tasting (Non-Oxidized) stem



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I bought a cleaned up Wally Frank pipe from a guy on ebay a couple months ago and he did a pretty decent job cleaning the pipe, but the stem has a very strong soap taste to it (no I'm not smoking any Lakeland) it tastes like it was soaked in Murphy's Oil Soap, and never rinsed off. I've cleaned the stem with soap and water, and scrubbed out the inside with bristle pipe cleaners and 151 proof Vodka but it still tastes like soap. What is the next step? over night Vodka soak? I'd prefer not to do a bleach soak because of the dots on the stem.


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## ChronoB (Nov 4, 2007)

Commander Quan said:


> I bought a cleaned up Wally Frank pipe from a guy on ebay a couple months ago and he did a pretty decent job cleaning the pipe, but the stem has a very strong soap taste to it (no I'm not smoking any Lakeland) it tastes like it was soaked in Murphy's Oil Soap, and never rinsed off. I've cleaned the stem with soap and water, and scrubbed out the inside with bristle pipe cleaners and 151 proof Vodka but it still tastes like soap. What is the next step? over night Vodka soak? I'd prefer not to do a bleach soak because of the dots on the stem.


You could try the ozone treatment that Dave offers at walkerbriarworks.com. Just be prepared to wait a while unless you can work out an arrangement beforehand to have it done quickly. He's usually a couple months behind.


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Clean it with liquor then smoke the crap out of it. Usually smoking it gets rid of the stench after a while.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I'll need one of those Grabow smoking machines I don't think I can stomach smoking it as is.


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## SmokinDragon (May 31, 2009)

put it in a cup of the 151 let it sit for a bit, then scrub it with bristle and normal cleaners while it's still submerged in the 151, rise and repeat. Still gonna taste funny for a smoke or 2, but then should be fine.


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## Diodon nepheligina (Nov 5, 2009)

I'd make up a paste of baking soda and liberally slather the stem inside and out with the stuff. Let dry. Remove with warm water. Repeat.


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## Jack Straw (Nov 20, 2008)

If it is vulcanite soak it in alcohol, then don't forget to wax it or at least use chap stick on it. Don't soak lucite stems in alcohol, as they may crack.


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## InsidiousTact (Dec 3, 2010)

How would you clean a lucite stem without alcohol?


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## Nicolas J. Pug (Apr 21, 2009)

Try blowing smoke through it while smoking your favorite blend in another pipe. This is one of Dub's tricks. Should make it taste like a good smoke.


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## Jack Straw (Nov 20, 2008)

InsidiousTact said:


> How would you clean a lucite stem without alcohol?


I've never had any problems running alcohol-soaked pipe cleaners through my acrylic stems, but I've heard of people cleaning acrylic stems with alcohol and having small cracks appear on the surface. Who knows if an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner will cause the cracking inside the stem but if you can't see it, who cares. Apparently it can sometimes be seen on the inside of clear stems.

I would definitely not risk soaking an acrylic stem in alcohol.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

The issue isn't just the inside of the stem but the outside tastes like soap too. I'm going to give it a vodka bath, and report back.


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## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

Commander Quan said:


> The issue isn't just the inside of the stem but the outside tastes like soap too. I'm going to give it a vodka bath, and report back.


I have a couple of vulcanite stem equipped pipes, one of them is used heavily and keeps getting oxydized and stinky quickly. Once cleaned, a rubdown with carnauba wax (or alternative) helps delay the inevitable on the exterior. To clean, I use a tube of Dunhill toothpaste, errr, pipe stem cleaner. I could swear its toothpaste but what do I know, for 10x the price I hope Alfred Dunhill knew the difference. A periodic rubdown with this magic potion gets the green off, and wax or olive oil keeps it that way for a bit. We use the gel type toothpaste at home so I can't try the "generic" treatment, YMMV.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I soaked the stem in vodka for 12 hours it's much better, but the pipe it's self still has some horrible taste the I though was only in the stem. I'm currently trying to exercise this demon with a custom blend of Prince Albert layered on top of 5 Brothers on top of Ashton Artisan's blend. I can't tell if it's working or if I'm dead. :shocked:


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

Someone should remind you to cover any logos or metal with petroleum jelly before soaking it in anything. That'll protect the delicate bits. 

If it was me, I'd cover fragile parts then soak the rest of the stem in 50/50 bleach-to-water solution for an hour (more if you need to get rid of green oxidation coloring). Then sand the stem lightly with fine 800+ grit sandpaper to remove the roughness. Then I'd rub the stem with olive oil and a soft cloth 'till you get the sheen back. 

Well, that's a bit of a lie. I have a polishing wheel, so that last step involves a cloth wheel rotating at 2000 RPM and some polishing compounds and carnauba wax for me. And takes very little time. If you don't have the tools, the oil-to-shine treatment will take quite a bit (20 min?) of elbow grease.



Also, I've seem stems that can hold a lot of nasty flavor even after an alcohol-soaked pipe cleaner runs through it clear. In most cases, there's built up cake on the inside of the stem. Try soaking a bristled cleaner in alcohol, then insert and leave in there for 30 min. Then take it out and run it through a few times. If it's brown, there's built up cake in the stem.


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